Soda Ban on Hold

CBS news reported yesterday that “smaller sodas were set to hit New York City eateries tomorrow until New York Supreme Court Judge Milton Tingling struck down the plan and ruled that the city may not enforce the new regulation. The ban, which was set to take place today, applied to sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces sold at restaurants, fast food establishments, delis, sports venues and movie theaters. The limits do not apply to milk-based and alcoholic beverages sold at these eateries. Also exempt are sugar-sweetened drinks sold at grocery stories and convenience stores.”

Mayor Bloomberg had recently appeared on Face the Nation, stating “This year, for the first time in the history of the world, more people will die from too much food than from too little food. More people will die from the effects of obesity than from starvation. And we’ve got to do something about this. This is going to bankrupt the country. Our medical system cannot handle it. We’ve just got to do something. And all we’re doing in New York is reminding you that it’s not in your interest to have too many empty calories.”

Would the soda ban really help?

Is the act of literally taking away something that so many people still covet and crave the answer? Or would a better approach be to perhaps reallocate time and funds spent on this time of act to outreach organizations focused on making healthy, fresh foods available to everyone, regardless of their income?

I’m not saying it is, or isn’t, but it’s definitely an interesting topic for discussion. I’m reminded of a child being told he or she can’t have something, regardless of whether it is a food or not, which results in them wanting it even more.

Here, if we tell adults they can’t have soda yet they still want it, opt not to see how much it contributes to the state of ‘unhealth’ of our nation as a whole and will clearly find ways to get it elsewhere (like in New Jersey), is it really going to help?

One waitress interviewed in a brief piece in the Times on Monday expressed her own frustration with the idea and said she was going to ‘drink as many 20-ounce sodas as she can, just to irritate the mayor’.